Hybrid circuit board assemblies are known. Such assemblies are typically comprised of a number of ceramic substrates attached by solder or otherwise to a mother-board (e.g., a copper heatsink or other mounting structure).
Electrical devices on the substrates are powered by and interconnected with other devices on the substrate through the use of copper traces printed on the substrates. Interconnections among substrates (and physical attachment of the substrate to the mother-board) is accomplished by re-flow soldering the substrates to the mother-board. Where a number of substrates must be assembled into a single hybrid circuit board assembly, the substrates must be secured and aligned with the mother-board during the re-flow soldering process. Securing and aligning the ceramic boards to the mother-board during the soldering process is necessary to ensure the integrity of circuit connections created during the re-flow process.
Past efforts at securing and aligning substrates to the mother-board during the soldering process have included the construction of fixtures, sized to hold the mother-board and any ceramic boards to be attached to the mother-board. While the use of soldering fixtures has proven effective, the construction and maintenance of soldering fixtures is expensive. Further, changes to hybrid circuit boards often require re-working alignment fixtures requiring further expense. Because of the importance (and prevalence) of hybrid circuit boards in consumer goods (e.g., cellular radiotelephones) and associated infrastructure (e.g., radio frequency base stations) a needs exists for a more efficient method of securing and aligning ceramic boards within hybrid circuit board assemblies during the re-flow soldering process.